Control mechanism for writing implement



Aug. 23, 1955 A. T. LIGUORI CONTROL MECHANISM FOR WRITING IMPLEMENTFiled Sept. 22, 1953 INVENTOR hree-ofz/auafi/ ATTORNEY United StatesPatent CONTROL MECHANISM FOR WRITING llVlPLEMENT Alfred T. Liguori,Bronx, N. Y., assignor to Delva Plastics, Inn, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application September 22, 1953, Serial No.381,538

7 Claims. (Cl. 12042.03)

The present invention relates generally to writing implements. Inparticular, the present invention relates to writing implements of thetype wherein the operative end thereof is automatically retractable.Even more particularly, the present invention relates to automaticallyretractable writing implements and the means for extending the front endthereof into operative position, for retaining same in such position,and for automatically causing retraction of the writing end into thebody of the implement. While the present invention will be described asapplied to a pen of the ball-point type, it is not to be limited in itsapplication except by the appended claims, it being obvious that thestructure of the invention may be applied equally well to pencils,crayons, or other types of marking materials.

conventionally, ball-point writing implements comprise an elongatedcylindrical barrel open at both ends thereof. A plunger rod within thebarrel has an end which extends rearwardly of the barrel through therear, or top opening. The bottom or lower end of the plunger within thebarrel, bears against the rear or upper end of a writing element or tubecontaining therewithin the ink and the ball point at its lower or frontend. A coil spring concentrically disposed about the barrel normallyurges same rearwardly or upwardly into the barrel, so that the operativeend thereof is positioned therewithin. A trapped coil spring disposedwithin the plunger, and a catch member associated therewith andprojecting laterally of the plunger cooperates with the barrel to lockthe tube in its extended position. The present invention relatesspecifically to the construction and operation of the plunger and thelocking spring associated therewith.

The plunger, the spring trapped therewithin and the catch associatedtherewith extending outwardly from the plunger, as in conventionalwriting implements, comprise three elements, the formation and assemblyof which involve considerable expense, particularly when the cost oflabor is considered in addition to the cost of the materials themselves.It is always important to reduce manufacturing costs, but this is oflittle avail when the high, everincreasing cost of labor is considered.It is always desirable, therefore, to so construct any mechanism as torender its assembly simple and easy, even for relatively unskilledlabor. It is a main object of the present invention, therefore, toprovide a new and improved writing implement, having a projecting andlocking mechanism which comprises relatively few parts, of simpleconstruction, easy to assemble.

It is a further object of my invention to provide new and improvedprojecting plunger.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a new andimproved plunger locking mechanism.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide aplunger having the spring locking component extending forwardly thereof.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide adouble-armed spring for locking the plunger in alternative positionswithin the barrel of the writing implement.

Other, further and more specific objects of the present invention willin part be obvious and in part specifically pointed out in the followingdescription of an illustrative embodiment, taken in conjunction with theannexed drawing wherein:

Figure l is an exploded view, in perspective, of one form of deviceconstructed according to and embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged, exploded view, of the plunger and lockingspring elements;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through the completely assembledwriting implement; and

Figure 4 is a transverse section on the line 44 of Figure 3.

The writing implement generally is indicated by reference numeral 10,comprising a barrel 12, a plunger 14, a plunger lock spring 16, a fluidtube 18, and coil spring 20.

The barrel 12 is formed of two portions, the upper or head 22 beinghollow and having an opening 24 at the top or rear end 26 thereof. Thelower or body portion 28 of barrel 12 is also hollow, and is formed withan opening 30 in the front or lower end 32 thereof. An elongated slot 34is formed through one side of barrel head 22, midway between the endsthereof, said slot 34 having an enlarged portion 36 at the end thereofnear the lower end 33 of barrel head 22. A cylindrical plug 40 is fixed,as at 41, into the lower end 38 of head 22, said plug 40 beinglongitudinally apertured as at 42 and having a portion thereof 44extending outwardly from said barrel head 22 the extension beingprovided with external threads as at 46. The upper end 48 of barrel body28 is internally threaded as at 50 whereby the barrel head and body canbe joined, as shown in Figure 3. A clip 52 is fixed to barrel head 22,the upper end 54 thereof being clamped, riveted or otherwise securedthereto, the lower end 56 of the clip 52 having an enlarged head portionwhich may be depressed towards barrel 22 or urged outwardly therefrom.

The ink-containing tube 18 has a ball point 58 fixed to its lower end69, and is provided with an enlargement or stop 62 spaced away from thelower end to trap coil spring 20 between and within the lower or frontend 32 of barrel body 28 and said enlargement or stop 62. As seen inFigures 1 and 2, the upper end of tube 18 extends through and rearwardlyof plug 40.

The plunger 14 is formed of any suitable plastic, as by molding, castingor otherwise, and comprises a cylindrical upper end 70, and a widenedlower end portion 72, having an offset, transversely extending hook arm74 formed integrally therewith. Spring 16 is of thin, flat, metal stock,having an arm 81) provided with an outwardly arched end 82 and anopposed arm 84 having a stepped end 86 bent outwardly therefrom todefine a detent. The arms 80, 84 are connected by an integrally formedbridge portion 86. Arms 8d, 8 are normally divergent, the distancebetween the respective ends 82, 86 being greater than the internaldiameter of the hollow barrel head 22.

The component parts of the writing implement of the present inventionmay be assembled easily, and quickly, and by persons with no particularskill or training. After clip 52 is affixed to barrel top 22, with itsenlarged portion 56 overlying the enlarged portion 36 of slot 34, thespring bridge 86 is engaged with the plunger by sliding same into thespace between the ofiset hook arm 74 and portion 72. The cylindrical endof plunger 14 is then inserted into barrel head 22 through the lower end38 and the divergent arrn ends 82, 86 brought together and pushedthereinto until the top end 15 of the plunger extends through and beyondaperture 24, whereupon the plunger may be manually engaged and rotateduntil the stepped end 86 of arm 84 snaps into slot 34, it beingunderstood that the divergent tendency of the arm ends, one of whichrests against the inner wall of the barrel head causes this outwardspringing of arm head 86. The width of arm 84 is greater than that ofslot 34, and only the tip end 90, and the stepped portion 92 immediatelytherebelow are of suflicient width to extend upwardly through thewidened slot portion 36. The second stepped portion 94 is wider thanslot 34 and portion 36.

Plunger 14is movable between two positions spaced apart the length ofslot 34, the outer or upper position being shown in full lines in Figure3, and the inner or lower position being shown in dotted lines in saidfigure. In the inner or lower, dotted line position, tip 90 and thefirst stepped portion 92 extend upward through slot portion 36 and urgeclip head 56 outwardly of barrel head 22, the edges of the slot adjacentthe widening 36 serving as a stop against outward movement of plunger14.:

After plug 40 is fixed within head 22, tube 18 is threaded therethrough,spring 20 disposed about its lower end, and the tube and spring insertedinto barrel body 18, whereupon the plug is thread-engaged to the lowerbarrel portion 28, as at 46, 50 to complete the assembly. The normallyexpansile biasing of spring 20 against enlargement 62 will urge tube 18rearwardly between spring arms 80, 84 and against hook arm 74.

When plunger end 15 is depressed, or urged into the barrel head, it willbear against tube end 19 and cause the balled end 60 to project out ofthe front end of the barrel into the dotted line position of Figure 3,whereupon the implement is ready for use.

When the enlarged end 56 of clip 52, which is wider than slot 34 or theenlarged portion 36 thereof, is pressed against tip 90, spring arm 84will be depressed until the stepped portion 92 is below the level ofslot 34, whereupon the expansile energy of spring 20 will be released tosnap tube 18 and the tip end 15, plunger 14 upwardly and out of barrelhead 22, to position the ball end 60 inside the barrel and the arm end90 in its other position.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A writing implement comprising an elongated barrel having a frontopening and a rear opening, an elongated writing element having aforward end and a rear end and positioned in said barrel andlongitudinally movable between an advanced and a retracted position,spring means normally urging said writing element to a retractedposition, a longitudinally movable plunger disposed in said barrel andprojecting through said rear opening and in co-acting relationship withsaid writing element, said plunger having a transverse recess formedtherein rear- Wardly of the forward end thereof, a locking member formedof resilient material and disposed in said barrel and including a pairof forwardly directed, relatively outwardly sprung legs joined at theirrear ends by a crotch portion engaging said recess and having anoutwardly directed detent element on and in the vicinity of the forwardend of one of said legs, said barrel having a longitildinal slit formedtherein, said slit having an enlarged forward portion of relativelygreater width, said detent having a base portion wider than the rearportion of said slit and no wider than the enlarged forward portionthereof and a narrower tip no wider than the width of the rear portionof said slit, said detent being urged into engagement with said slit bysaid resilient leg.

2. A writing implement in accordance with claim 1, wherein the front endof one of said legs is outwardly bent and of step like configuration todefine said detent.

3. A Writing implement in accordance with claim 1, wherein the forwardpart of the other of said legs is provided with an outwardly facingconvex portion bearing against said barrel wall.

4. A Writing implement in accordance with claim 1', including a clipmember having one end thereof secured to said barrel and having its freeend confronting said enlarged forward portion of said slit.

5. In a writing implement including an elongated barrel having a frontand rear opening and an elongated writing element disposed therein andmovable between an advanced and a retracted position and spring urged toits retracted position said barrel having an aperture formed in itswall, a plunger element projecting through said rear opening and havinga transverse slit formed therein and a locking member including a pairof resilient forwardly directed legs joined at their rear by a crotchportion registering with said slit, one of said legs extending forwardlyof the front end of said plunger and having an outwardly directed detentportion adapted to engage said aperture.

6. A writing implement in accordancegwith claim 5, wherein the forwardend of said plunger. abuts the rear end of said writing element and saidlegs bear against opposite walls of said barrel.

7. A writing implement in accordance with claim 5, wherein said plungeris provided with an enlarged forward portion and said transverse slit isformed in said enlarged forward portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSGermany July 30. 1951

